The Sooner, The Better (Not)
by anaivle
Summary: Cheryl has always known as a spoiled brat and is overly attached to her brother. She grew up without the figure of a Dad, that's why her brother is her one and only role model. She loves her brother so much that her dream is to marry a guy like her brother when she becomes an adult; a gentle and kind farmer. Then, the story began when a new farmer moved into Bluebell.
1. Chapter 1

"There you are, Ash!"

"!" He jerked is shoulder a bit as I screamed his name from his behind, and immediately turned his face towards me. "Oh, Cheryl. You startled me." Ash huffed as he put his right palm on his chest, but then he immediately gave me his usual brotherly smile.

I jogged playfully towards Ash, and hugged his legs. "Come play with me! You promised you'd play with me today!"

"What?" Ash formed a slight frown on his face for a brief moment before he slightly opened his mouth in agape. "Oh yeah! You're right, I did!"

"Ash, did you forget?" I pouted and slowly tugged his pants repeatedly.

"I'm sorry, Cheryl." He said as he patted my head. "But I'm talking with Laney right now. We'll play in a little while, okay?"

I frowned immediately upon hearing Ash's response. That's definitely not the response I want to hear, he promised to play with me today!

I peeked at the blonde girl from behind Ash's legs. She stood still, kept her eye on us while she put a faint smile with a slight frown. I puffed my right cheek and looked up to Ash again. "WHAT!? Noo! Play with me noow!"

"Uh.." Ash grabbed my arms and turned his face around to Laney.

Laney chuckled at the sight. "It's okay, Ash. Just play with her."

"Are you sure? But.. well.." Ash averted his gaze and fixed his beret hat.

"It's okay, we can talk later when you're free." Laney replied. "Don't forget to drop by the café some other times, okay? I'll bake you something delicious."

"Okay, thanks! Sorry, Cheryl's being such a brat. We'll take a raincheck, okay? Next time, let's talk more." Ash smiled at Laney while his hands made a pleading gesture.

"Ash come oooon! Let's go, let's go!" I tucked his pants again, this time more impatiently. I don't like hearing myself being called a brat, but I'm too busy to drag him off from other girl to be mad about that.

"Okay, okay…" Ash patted my head again, and then he grabbed my hand. "I'll see you later, Laney."

* * *

My name is Cheryl. I live in Bluebell village with my Mom, Jessica and my big brother, Ash; and we run the biggest farm throughout the village. Mom used to work along with Ash in the farm, taking care of the animals and stuffs, but because my Mom once fell sick due to fatigue Ash had forbid her to overwork herself, and Ash took over the farm by himself. I really wanted to help out at the farm, but Mom and Ash always tell me I can't, and that I to wait until I grow up a little bit more. So instead, I usually help my mom to run our dairy product store.

The farm used to be owned by Dad, however Mom said that Dad had left us when I was still a baby, that's why I don't really have any memories of him; well, I could even hardly get a good grasp on his looks or face. I might have grown up without a Dad, but I have the best brother in the world! He had never complaint on running the big farm by himself, and I know it's not an easy task. Ash is a real hardworker, and he is sooo nice to me. He always tried his best to give me whatever I asked him, and he always treat me nicely. He really loves me and I really love my brother! In fact, when I grow up I wish I could marry a guy like that is just like my brother. A true gentleman, and a hardworking farmer. But of course my brother is the best farmer in the world, no one is better than him! Ah, I wonder if I could find a guy as great as him when I'm finally an adult?

Buuuut, Ash also has this weakness to himself. He is nice to _everyone_. Too nice, even. This is why he worries me the most, what if some evil girls take his kindness for granted? I don't want those girls to take my brother away, that is why I have to protect my brother!

We finally arrived at our house. It's not really far from the town's square, and just across our house is a horse-breeding ranch. They sure have pretty horses on their ranch! I often stop by the ranch's fence to take a look at their horses. Ash opened the front door and hold them for me to walk in first.

"We're home." Ash notified.

"Oh Ash. You're back already?" Mom turned her face for a few seconds from the shelf towards us as he heard Ash's voice, then she shifted her attention back to the shelf . "I thought you said you're going to be home late today." She said as she mentally counted and arranged the stocks that will be sold for the next day.

"Um.. Yeah. Well." Ash replied ambiguously while fixing his hat. It's a habit of him whenever he feels uncomfortable or awkward.

Mom turned her head towards us once again, her eyebrows raised. Then her eyes met mine and she huffed slowly. "Cheryl.. Don't be too clingy on your brother. You're bothering Ash."

I pouted in disagreement. "But, he already made a promise to play with me today!"

"Don't be selfish, you can play with him anytime whenever he's free. Today is his day off, you should have just let him enjoy his time."

"Whaaaaaaatttttt." I frowned at mom's words. "But he's always working.. and he would be too tired to play with me after works!"

"It's alright, mom. She's right, I did make a promise to Cheryl to play with her on my next day off." Ash smiled as he patted my head.

I smiled widely at Ash's words. _Aha, my brother is really the best!_

"Don't spoil your sister too much, Ash." Mom put a little warning on her words.

Ash gave mom a faint laugh and we proceed to walk before mom cut us off again. "Oh, by the way Rutger dropped off earlier today." We stopped and shifted our attention back to Mom. "A new villager is going to move into the village to take over the run-down farm on the west-end area and Rutger was showing him around the village."

"Oh really? I just heard about it now." Ash replied.

"Yeah. So Rutger had bought him a cow and a chicken, can you deliver them to his farm tomorrow morning? He's around your age so I think you guys can get along well." Mom asked.

"Sure, no problem." Ash nodded.

"Ooh! Hey, Ash. Can I go too?" I looked up to Ash.

"Cheryl-"

"I'm soo bored being at home. I just want to take a walk with you and I wanna see the farm!" I cut Mom's words before she start to nag all day.

"Cheryl." Ash squatted to meet my eye level with his. I averted my gaze from his, I knew he was also going into his nagging mode. "This is not a trip or anything like that. It's an important request from the mayor, you hear?"

"I know.. but.." I looked up to Ash with my puppy-eyes. "Pleaseeee?"

"…."

"I'm going to work hard at the shop afterwards! Promise!" I offered him my pinky finger.

"…"

Ash sighed and again, he fixed his hat. "Alright. But also promise, don't disturb me when I'm talking to the mayor or the new villager, and well, basically just behave yourself."

"Mm-hmm!" I nodded vigorously.

"Fine. You can come along." Ash hooked my pinky finger with his. "But remember, behave."

"Mmmm-hmmmmm!" I nodded again, a bit more exaggerated than before. I could faintly hear my mom's sigh behind me.

I grinned to myself. _Heh, it works everytime._

* * *

"Aaaaasssshhhhhhh!" I called out to him as I entered his room. Upon hearing my voice, he immediately buried his head under the pillow and covered his ears. I came up closer to him and shook his arms. "Ash! Wake up!" I tried to call out to him again only to be replied by his unclear murmurs under his pillow.

"Ash, waaaakeee uuuuppp! You don't want to wait until Mom come herself to wake you up, do you?" I tried to threaten him.

Ash lifted his pillows, put it on his arms and lifted his head a bit. He narrowed his eyes on me for a few seconds.

Then he buried his face back to the pillow.

"Aaaash!" I shook his arms more vigorously, starting to get irked on his sleepyhead habit.

"Sheesh." He hissed from inside his pillow. Then he lifted his head, narrowed his eyes on me again.

Then he finally got up from his bed and head to the bathroom without any words.

Good thing he finally got up, I was already so tempted to smack him on his head next if he buries himself back to his pillow.

Just right after we got dressed up and had our breakfast, we heard a knock on the door. Mom rushed to the door to find mayor Rutger was standing in front of the door.

"Good morning, Jessica. Are we all prepared?" The mayor asked.

"Of course, Rutger! I have prepared the finest cow and chicken, and Ash is going to deliver them to the farm in my stead." Mom replied.

"Oho, very well, then. Shall we go, Ash?" The mayor turned to Ash.

"Alright, I'll go get the animals and we're good to go." Ash replied.

Then the mayor politely asked for leave to Mom, and he guided us to the new farmer's house. Along the way, mayor Rutger keeps on bragging how proud he is of the newcomer that he could see the beauty of Bluebell by choosing to live here rather than Konohana, our village rival. Konohana is also a famous farming village across the mountain, and both mayor of the villages never get along. That's why once a week, they have a cooking festival on the mountain summit in order to show whose village is the best, but really it is just a reason for the mayors to bash each others' village since the villagers are cool with each other.

After quite some walks, we finally see a house and somewhat looks like a farm surrounding the area. It's not exaggerating when Mom calls it as a run-down because the farm was truthfully in a bad condition, with all those weeds and all.

We stopped in front of the house and Rutger knocked on the house's door. Not so long after that, I heard the sound of the door creaked open. My vision was blocked by Rutger and Ash, so I had to peek a little from in between those two to take a look at the new villagers.

Just then, a boy came out to the door to get his guests.

And at that time,I don't know why my eyes just decided to lock themselves on the figure, and refused to look away.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, good morning, mayor." The boy smiled upon seeing his guest and greeted them first. He quickly scanned through his guests' face, and he definitely noticed the big cow behind Ash, but I doubt he saw my tiny figure in between them.

I was quite surprised because for a brief moment I thought he kind of looks like Ash, but then as I scanned through the boy's profile, I realized they have different facial features although his brunette hair style is quite similar to Ash's.

"Hey, nice to meet you. I bet you're Phillip, right?" Ash offered his right hand palm towards the boy. "I'm Ash. Let's be pals!"

Phillip shifted his attention to Ash and reached his palm and shook it. "I'm Phillip. I'm sure we can get along well."

"Ah, well you see, Phillip. I came here today with Ash to give you some housewarming gifts. I've brought you the finest cow and hen from Ash's family farm." Mayor explained while he gestured his cane to the animals. As the mayor moved his body to show Phillip his gifts, Phillip seemed to just noticed my presence there, holding his soon-to-be hen. Upon seeing me, he slightly raised his eyebrows, then he shifted his attention back to the mayor.

"What do you think? Aren't they magnificent?" The mayor asked.

"Absolutely. That's very kind of you, mayor. Thankyou very much, I appreciate it." Phillip smiled gently. "And this little girl here is..?" He asked, his gaze is directed towards me now.

I reflexively gave him my sweet smile that I usually use on Ash whenever I want him to do something for me. "Hi! My name is Cheryl. I'm Ash's little sister."

"Now, Phillip. Do you know how to take care of these animals?" Mayor asked Phillip abruptly. I rolled my eyes slightly. _Adults would always tend to ignore kids._ I protested silently.

Phillip let out a nervous laugh. "Actually I'm not really experienced on running a farm yet, so it'd be nice to know how to take care of the animals."

 _He really doesn't know?_ I slightly frowned my eyes on Phillip, good thing that the boy didn't seem to pay any attention to me. I turned my attention back to my brother. I was quite surprised at Phillip's answer. I mean, it's farmers' basics. _He had a long way to go to catch up to Ash._

"Well then, I'm going to explain on how to take care of your new animals." Said Ash. "Shall we head to the barn, then?"

We headed to the Phillip farm's barn, and Ash began to explain the basic of the basics on how to take care of the animals. Ash explained everything on how to feed them, how to brush and milk the cow, and how to prevent them from stress or sickness.

"If you need anything for your farm, just come by my family's shop." Said Ash when he finished his explanation.

"Got it. Bunch of thanks, Ash." Phillip replied.

"No problem. See you later then!" Ash bid him farewell on our stead, and the three of us headed back to our home, and the mayor headed back to the town hall.

* * *

I was in the Bluebell's town hall library, searching for a new storybook to read before bed when I overheard a girl mentioned Ash's name. I stopped for a brief moment, trying to comprehend the conversation and I figured out some girls behind the shelf in front of me were gossiping. Don't get me wrong, though! I don't like to eavesdrop, but it's just that they were all too loud when I was just one shelf away from them. Well, mainly because it has something to do with my brother.

'I think Ash is the best looking guy in Bluebell.'

 _Of course he is._ I nodded in approval. Talking about guys is a really common thing for girls to do, and it's quite fun to listen to. I hid my giggle while still listening to their conversation.

'Nah, I would vote for Phillip.'

'Oh my, I actually haven't seen this Phillip guy. But everyone seems to like him so much.'

'Well he's really friendly and diligent. Even the mayor likes him a lot.'

'Turns out he's also a great cook! I mean did you see him on the last cooking contest?'

'Not to mention he's also good looking. Probably the best in Bluebell if I would say.'

'Are you kidding me? Of course it's Cam!'

'Cam might be handsome. But he's really hard to approach.'

'You think it's easy to approach Ash? Try to talk to him without having that little bratty sister of his shooting daggers at you.'

'If it's not for his sister I would say Ash is the best boyfriend material.'

'I know, right? She's such a nuisance.'

I bit my lower lip as I heard they mentioned me. _Whatever, you guys don't deserve a guy as nice as Ash!_ I mentally answered with fury.

I really wished I brought my critters here with me and shove it up to their back. I lost my interest towards their conversation further more and walked away after choosing a book from the shelf.

It has been more than a week since Phillip came. Ever since then he has been the talk of the town recently, and most of them are praises towards the boy. Wherever I go, the new villager is apparently the hot topic among the townsfolk, no need to mention especially girls. I quite often overheard the village girls mentioned Ash and Cam as Bluebell's top bachelor a lot, but now even Phillip's on the list too.

I don't know why they would even compare Ash to the others but he's definitely the best!

I stopped by the library's reception to fill the form to borrow the storybook, then I went out of the town hall and hurried back home. Today is Saturday and Ash got his day off also today. _I can't wait to spend time with him! What game should I play with him today? Ah, should I ask him to read this storybook later?_

As I arrived at my house, I noticed two familiar silhouettes were standing right beside uncle Grady's ranch fences. I sneaked closer and hid behind a tree to take a closer look towards them to confirm. As I thought, it was really Laney and Ash, casually chatting while looking at uncle Grady's horses.

I hurriedly urged to approach them, but then suddenly the villagers words hit my head.

' _If it's not for his sister I would say Ash is the best boyfriend material.'_

' _I know, right? She's such a nuisance.'_

I stood still in my position, watching my brother from afar. _Does Ash also think that I'm a nuisance?_

I shook my head slowly at my own thoughts. _What do they know about me? Nothing. Why would it matter now? Silly Cheryl, you know that your brother really loves you._ I thought and resolved to myself. I was about to call out to my brother when suddenly a loud crashing sound came from the direction of my house's farm.

Ash and Laney turned towards the sound and gasped.

"Oh no, there she is.." Ash was startled at the sight before him. "I never thought she would go that far to even break through the fence."

"So that is Snow?" Laney asked while motioned to the white sheep that was trying to squeeze herself through the small space on the fence from inside the farm to go outside.

"Yup. The one I just told you before, she always tried to escape." Ash sighed. "I'll herd her back to the barn, then."

"Hmm.." Laney murmured, then she walked towards Snow.

"Laney?" Ash followed Laney and stood beside her while Laney suddenly patted Snow on the head.

"There, there, little Snow. Don't be scared. I know you are not familiar with this place yet but they are a good person. He will take a really good care of you so don't worry." Laney softly brushed her hand through Snow's fur. "Now why don't you go back to your barn? It's dangerous outside."

Laney continued to brush Snow's fur with her hands, until Snow finally turned back and headed to the barn.

I looked at the sight with disbelief and so did Ash.

"Wow, Laney! I have never seen a sheep persuaded like that before!" Ash said in amazement.

Laney giggled. "Heh heh, it's nothing really. I just thought that she would be even more scared if we tried to force her back to the barn."

"Ha ha, you're really an interesting person." Ash smiled at Laney, and I noticed she was blushing at Ash's words and averted her gaze to the ground. "Anyway, thanks for the help. And uh." Ash paused. "I was wondering if you want to take a walk with me?"

Laney fixed her gaze back at Ash and smiled. "I guess I could use some time."

Then they turned their backs against me and start to walk towards the mountain path. As I watched their backs slowly getting far away from my sight, I clutched and hugged my book tightly on my chest.

 _I guess, this time I have to read this book by myself.._


	3. Chapter 3

I stared outside the window from my room with an unpleased look on my face.

It was foggy outside, accompanied by heavy rain drops along with loud 'whoosh' noises. Yesterday, the weather forecast have said that there will be a typhoon all day long today, but deep down in my heart I still wish that the weather forecaster was wrong, or the weather suddenly changed its mind. Mom and Ash were already gone when I woke up, I think they are busy taking care of the animals in the barn before the typhoon gets any worse. I pouted at the sight outside my window. Typhoon means I would be prohibited to go outside. Shortly, I'm grounded.

 _But why today? It's Spring 24! Why should it typhoon on my birthday?!_

Suddenly I felt a familiar palm on my head. I didn't have to turn around to know it was Ash's hand.

"Hey, Cheryl. Come on, stop sulking on your birthday!" Ash said as he patted my head.

I frowned and looked down. "But then I won't be able to meet up with Angie and Lucy today."

Angie and Lucy are my best friends. They are also around my age, and I heard that their parents were originally from another city named Harmonica Town. Angie's parents run one of the most famous fashion store in Bluebell, while Lucy's father is a carpenter like Eileen. Lucy once said her mother was a famous dancer back in her hometown, but now she's a full-time housewife.

"And they also said they have prepared a present for me today, too." I continued to sulk.

"But you have me." Said Ash. "Look at the bright side, we could play together all day today."

I turned around and looked up to Ash, eyes widen. "You'll play with me?"

"Yup." Ash nodded.

"Really?" I tilted my head at him.

"Of course, silly." Ash chuckled and messed my hair. "I have taken care of the animals extra earlier today so I could play with you."

I jumped to Ash and hugged him. "Yay! Ash you're the best! Hee hee."

"Now that's better." Ash affectionately brushed my hair with his fingers. "So what do you want to do?"

"Hmm.." I stroked my chin to think for a while. "Oh, I know! Let's play that racing game! You know, the one with the funny-mustached character."

Ash frowned slightly and blinked. "Mario Kart?"

"Yup yup!" I nodded. "I'll beat you this time." I taunted Ash.

Ash snickered. "Bring it on."

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Cheryl!" Mom and Ash cheered together as I blew the candles on my chocolate party cake.

"Happy birthday dear. I hope you grow into a beautiful, responsible and mature woman in the future." Mom said as she kissed on my forehead.

"Happy birthday, little sister! I hope you will be less bratty kid now that you've turned one year older." Ash grinned at me. "And I hope you'll finally be able to beat me in Mario Kart." He added. I playfully stuck out my tongue at him which made him laugh, and then he also kissed me on the forehead.

"Thanks Mom, Ash." I grinned. "Now can we eat?" I asked afterwards, which was replied by their chuckles.

"Someone's getting impatient." Mom chuckled. "Let's eat, then." said Mom as she returned to her seat, followed by Ash. To be honest, my stomach instantly growled as soon as I entered the dining room and saw what was on the dining table. All of them are my favorite food!

I quickly shoved my spoon to the trifle and took a bite. "Yum! It's soooo good!" I said as I licked my lips.

"Heh heh, of course it is. I'm one of the representatives for the cooking festival, you know." Ash proudly smirked.

"Not listening to you." I said as I shove another spoonful of trifle into my mouth. Ash playfully tugged my pigtails and we laughed together.

We continued to chat while enjoying our dinner that night.I guess the typhoon wasn't so bad at all. On other days, they will be too busy to play with me, or even to listen to my stories. But today I got to play all day and tell every story that I've been wanting to tell Mom and Ash.

Then suddenly, we heard the doorbell rang.

"Who would be out on such vicious weather?" Mom said with both surprised and confused look on her face.

"I'll go get it." Ash said as he stood up from his chair and headed to the front door. I was curious, so I followed him and peeked from behind the dividing wall of the dining room and our shop counter.

"Phillip?" Ash was startled as he opened the door. "Oh, come on in!"

"Thanks, Ash." Phillip put his raincoat hood down as he entered our house.

"Man, what were you doing outside in a bad weather like this? The wind could even blow you out!" Ash asked as he closed the door.

"I was looking for ore stones in the mountain." Phillip said as he ruffled the remaining wet drops from his bangs.

"You're crazy." Ash said in disbelief.

Phillip shrugged. "Hey don't blame me. I don't know why but I can only find them in this kind of weather."

"Yeah what luck you have there." Ash replied, and they both chuckled. "Anyway, do you need something?" Ash asked.

"Oh well, I was looking for Cheryl." Phillip replied.

I widened my eyes in surprise as soon as I heard my name. _Me?_ I mouthed with my index finger pointing at myself.

"Hm? Cheryl?... Oh, right. I'll go get her, then." Ash turned around and caught me off guard, peeking from behind the wall. Ash raised his eyebrows as he spotted me. "…There she is."

I came out from my hiding place and approached them. "Good evening, Phillip!" I greeted him cheerfully.

"Good evening, Cheryl." He replied. "I have something for you." He said as he searched through his sling bag. "Here." I looked down to see a small pink box on his hand. An italic font that says 'Howard's' was printed beautifully on the box. "Happy birthday." Phillip said.

"A present for me?" I blinked for a few seconds then I flashed my sweetest smile to Phillip. "Yay! Thank you so much, Phillip!" I took the present from Phillip's hands and opened the box to find a cute montblanc cake inside. "Oooh, I love this!"

"Glad you liked it." Phillip smiled.

"But how do you know it's my birthday today?" I asked.

"Your brother told me the other day when I was delivering his request." Phillip explained.

"I asked Phillip's help to get me the ingredients for the trifle." Ash admitted. "But hey, that's very nice of you to go through all the trouble to come here."

"I was on my way home from the mountain anyway, so I thought I'd drop by." Said Phillip nonchalantly. "Well, I guess I'll be on my way now." Phillip turned around to the door to leave.

"Uh, wait!" I called out to him reflexively. Phillip and Ash both turned their heads to me.

"Um…" I murmured.

 _Stupid Cheryl! Why did you stop him?_

Then suddenly my head came up with a clever reason.

"Ah, yes! We're having my birthday dinner right now, would you like to join? Mom baked a biiiig chocolate party cake for me, I don't think we could finish it all by ourselves." I asked.

"Oh that's right, why don't you join us, Phillip? I'm sure Mom will be happy to welcome you." Ash added.

"That's a very kind offer but I think I'll pass. It's a family dinner anyway so it wouldn't feel right for me to butt in." Phillip replied.

"Aww.. that's too bad." I muttered.

"Thanks for the offer though." Phillip smiled, and then he put his raincoat hood back on. "I shall head back home now. Pass my greeting to Jessica."

"Sure thing. Let's hang out together again with Cam some other time." Ash replied.

"Will do! See ya." Phillip turned around and opened the door.

"Be careful on your way home, Phillip." I said to him as he was halfway out the door.

Phillip turned his head to look at me from the corner of his eyes and smiled. "Yup. See you, Cheryl." He said before he closed the door.

"He's sure is a nice guy, isn't he? He also get me a present for my birthday." Ash muttered. "Well, let's get back to the dining room."

I watched Ash walk away as I stood still on my place, then I took a glance at the montblanc cake on my hands and found myself grinning.

Why am I so happy?


	4. Chapter 4

"Mooom?"

"Yes, honey?" Mom replied softly while doing the dishes from our breakfast, without turning her head towards me.

"Where's Ash?" I asked as I scanned through the room.

Mom turned her head to me and shrugged. "Off to see Cam, probably."

"This early?" I burrowed my brows, not convinced.

"He said he promised Cam to help with him with his shop since the Summer Flower Day is just a couple of days away." Mom explained as she shifted her attention back to the dishes.

"Hmph…" I grumbled as I made a pout.

Mom turned back to me and left out a small sigh. "Rather than sulking, why don't you help me to deliver some chicken feed to Phillip today?"

"Huh?" I widened my eyes as Mom caught my attention. "Today? But isn't the shop supposed to be closed today?" I asked as I noticed that today is Wednesday, our shop's regular closing time.

"Actually he came to buy some yesterday but we were out of stock. So I thought why not deliver it to him today since we can't let those poor hens starving." Mom replied as she wiped her hands as she finished doing the dishes.

Mom walked towards our shop storage to get our weekly supply of chicken feeds and fodders. Our supply usually get delivered on Wednesday, so even though the shop is closed we are usually busy with arranging the stocks for the whole week until our next supply delivery.

Mom took out two packages of chicken feeds and hand it to me. "Make sure to deliver them to Phillip, okay? Oh, and tell him not to worry about the money."

"Okay!" I nodded as I took the chicken feeds from her. "I'll go get dressed!" I said as I rushed back to my room.

"Huh? Cheryl, wait-" Mom tried to stop me, but her voice was getting weaker as I was getting farther from her.

I quickly grabbed my favorite dress, then brushed tied my hair into my usual pigtails before I headed back towards my house's front door.

"Cheryl, you don't have to go now. It's raining, you can wait till it get better outside." Mom said as she arranged the stocks on the shelves.

I put on my shoes and grabbed my umbrella near the door. "Don't worry, I'm bringing an umbrella. I'll be going now, see you later Mom!" I said as I walked out of the door hurriedly before Mom could protest and left her behind, while she raised an eyebrow on me as I leave.

Summer season could be the most annoying one for Bluebell. It's pretty heated up in daytime, but also chilly in the nighttime. A storm would hit a little more often compared to other seasons, and the weather is rather unpredictable – it could be sunny in one moment, but in the next hour you could be hit by a heavy rain, just like today. It would be best if you carry an umbrella with you on summer in Bluebell because you never know what's going to happen.

I hummed as I marched through the grass field, watching the critters as they sing along the rain and hopped. Most people don't find them cute, but I actually like critters. I like to go critter-catching on my free time, but I usually released them back to the nature (sometimes I used few of them to scare the evil girls that tried to get near Ash, but fortunately he doesn't seem to know about this). I just like to feel them on my hands and admired their beauty for awhile.

As soon as I reached Phillip's farm, I noticed a figure was standing in the farm's grazing field in the middle of the rain. Curious, I proceed to move closer towards the grazing field and found it was Phillip. He was busy pushing his sheep back to the barn.

"Phillip?!" I called out to him as I approached him.

He immediately turned towards me and gave a surprised look for a split second, but then he formed a smile as he continued to push his sheep. "Oh. Good afternoon, Cheryl."

"What are you doing?" I asked, then I realized it was a stupid question as it was obvious what he was trying to do - He was herding his animals back to the barn because of the rain. "You'll catch a cold if you don't use an umbrella." I said as I lifted my umbrella, trying to cover him from the rain but failed because I was too short compared to him.

Phillip left out a laughter. "Your brother used to say the same thing to me. Don't worry, I'm much stronger than I look. I prefer to hurry and not let the animals got sick." He said as he managed to push the sheep back to the barn. "I only got a sheep and two chickens left anyway. Why don't you wait inside the house, Cheryl?" Phillip offered as he rushed to the last sheep.

I glanced at the grazing chickens. "I'll help you out." I said, as I rushed to the chickens and brought them back inside the barn.

As a daughter that was raised in a farm, catching chicken is an easy task, I could do it even if one of my hand was busy holding the umbrella. In short time, I managed to put the chickens back to it's pen. When I put the second chicken in, Phillip also managed to get the last sheep back to the barn.

"Whew." Phillip sighed as he ruffled his hair. "Thank you very much, Cheryl. You've been such a great help!" He grinned to me.

"You should always carry an umbrella with you on summer, or at least, wear something with a hood. The weather could be pretty unpredictable at this time of the year." I suggested.

"Ah, yeah. I can see why." Said Phillip. "I immediately rushed back from the town as soon as it started raining. I should make listening to the weather forecast every morning as my habit from now on." He chuckled.

"Anyway, I'm going to dry myself, why don't we get inside my house for now?" Phillip offered.

"Okay." I agreed, then handed him my umbrella.

He proceeded to hold the umbrella for me on our way to his house, and as I entered the house, Phillip invited me to sit in his dining room. He then poured a glass of hot milk and served it to me before he took off to his room.

I took the opportunity to glance around Phillip's place. His house has a nice and homey atmosphere around it, with brown tiles, cream carpet and matching tablemat. Although, it's interior design was Bluebell's basic.

"Sorry to put you through such troubles." Phillip said, as he entered the dining room and ruffled his wet hair with a towel and left it hung around his neck. "Do you need something, Cheryl?"

"Oh, I'm just here to run an errand from my Mom." I explained as I approached him and handed him a small bag carrying the chicken feeds.

Phillip took the bag from me to check it's inside. "Oh, the chicken feeds." Phillip murmured.

"She asked me to deliver them to you since the shop is closed today, and she also said that you don't have to worry about the money." I passed Mom's message to him.

Phillip widened his eyes for another second before he broke out into another smile. "Really? That is so generous of your Mom. Pass my thanks to her, will you?"

I nodded. "Will do."

"Thanks, you guys have helped me a lot. You and your families surely are nice people." Phillip commented as he put the bag on a shelf.

"Mom said that's because we can't let your animals starve, and besides you also helped us a lot with our requests, so it's even." I said.

"If you say so." Phillip left out a chuckle. "So what do you usually do on Wednesdays when you're not helping the store?" He asked.

"I would usually play with my brother, but sometimes he's still too busy to play with me even in our day offs." I replied, half pouting. "What do you usually do, Phillip?"

"Me? Well…" He stroked his chin and glanced above. "I usually get my farming routine done first thing first, then I would help with the request board or go foraging to the mountain for the rest of the day. Or sometimes, I would visit Konohana." Phillip said, then he left out a smile while burrowing his brows to me. "But well, since I was careless with the weather, I had to spend extra time on my farm. So I guess I don't have enough time to do any of them."

"That sounds exciting." I commented. "I would sometimes go play in the mountain, but I never crossed the summit to go to Konohana. I'm really curious about the town."

"It's really different from Bluebell, but it's a really nice town, too." Phillip replied.

"There is a tunnel that used to connect the town, you know? But since it's closed, we don't get to see each villagers as often and I heard the relationship between the towns got worse." I said.

Phillip left out a sigh and nodded. "I know, isn't it such a shame? If only the tunnel could be re-opened…" He murmured.

Then, I noticed that a glimpse of sun ray came through the window, as the sound of the rain stopped completely. "Hey look, the rain has stopped!" I jumped excitedly towards the window.

"Oh, right." Phillip followed me and glanced outside the window. "Well that's great. According to the forecast, it should be sunny for the rest of the day."

"Yeah!" I smiled at the thought of being able to go critter-catching in the mountain inside of getting holed up inside my house for the day.

Then, my head came up with another idea. "Hey, Phillip. Wanna know something great?" I asked.

Phillip raised an eyebrow on me. "What?"

"I'm only telling you only if you agree to follow me." I grinned.

Phillip left out a confused smile before he gave up. "Alright, I have nothing else for today's schedule anyway. What is it?"

"Great, let's go!"

I led Phillip to Bluebell's lower mountain area. "Okay, here we are."

"Mind telling me what are we here for?" Phillip asked.

"Hee hee, well, do you know that summer is the best season to go critter catching?" I said.

"Critter catching?" Phillip threw a confused look to me.

"There are lots of them in the mountain area. Beetles, Locusts, Fireflies, Butterflies, etc. You can catch them and even sell them in the shipping bin, or just to keep it for yourself. The best part is, you can catch them bare-handed!" I explained.

"Really?" Phillip asked, he seemed interested.

"Yep. Watch this." I said as I looked through the bushes and caught a critter in no time.

"Wow, what is that?" Phillip glanced at the critter in my hand with amusement.

"This one is called Longheaded Locust." I replied. "Here, let me tell you the secret on how to catch a critter with your hands."

I proceeded to tell Phillip my personal version on how-to-catch-critters-bare-handed guide. Then he tried out the technique and managed to catch a critter.

"I think this one is the same species with the one you caught before." He muttered as he studied the critter in his hand.

"It is." I nodded. "Though I prefer butterflies to locusts."

"So what do you do with the critters you caught?" Phillip asked.

"I usually release them back. Except for butterflies, I would keep them and release them in my farm area." I replied.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Phillip said as he released the longheaded locust in his hand.

Surprisingly enough, Phillip seemed to have interests towards the critters and we ended up critter-catching for the rest of the day and talked about them. Although he mostly released them back, he kept some critters with him inside a small cage that we prepared beforehand.

Phillip caught a Nymph Butterfly and put it inside a cage. "Well, she's the last one for today." He said, then handed the cage to me.

I looked up to him confused, and was replied by his smile. "You said you prefer butterflies, right? This one is for you as my token of thanks for teaching me critter-catching."

"Thanks! I'm gonna go show my brother! Hee hee." I grinned as I took the cage from him. Nymph Butterflies aren't rare and I have caught them quite often, but I felt so happy to receive the butterfly at that time.

"Well, let's go back to the town before your mom and your brother gets worried." Phillip concluded.

* * *

"I'm home!" I said as I entered my house and found my mom and my brother were preparing dinner.

"Oh, Hi Cheryl!" Ash greeted me. "How's your day? I'm sorry that I couldn't play with you today, I made a promise with Cam." Ash said in an apologetic tone.

"That's fine, Ash." I replied. "I had a great day today."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hmm…" I sniffed out the lavenders I received from Phillip.

"Not bad… Pretty good, actually." I murmured, then I took another sniff on the purple flowers bunch. It gave a really elegant and soothing fragrance that I couldn't help but smile at the pleasant smell. "Hee hee. It smells pretty!"

I turned around to see Phillip was glancing curiously at me. "Don't tell my brother! I'm going to surprise him! I bet he'll think it smells pretty too!" I warned him jokingly.

Phillip left out a small chuckle. "Alright, deal. But what are you going to do with the lavenders?" He threw a confused look at me.

"I'm going to give it to Cam and make myself a perfume out of these. He's really good at making handmade perfumes! Now I smell all grown up!" I grinned as I took another sniff at the lavenders. I just couldn't get enough of the smell, I think it was the right choice to pick lavenders in the end! (Thanks mom).

"Thanks for helping me! Since you worked so hard, I have a reward for you!" I hid my arms behind my back and looked up to Phillip. "Here! A kiss on a cheek!"

"…."

"…."

Phillip widened his eyes and slightly burrowed his brows, his face was about to laugh. Feeling embarrassed, I tried to cover the awkwardness I created.

"Just kidding!" I playfully stick out my tongue, then proceeded to walk to the store's stock shelves and picked out two bottles of milk.

"Here's your real reward! Our very own farm's milk from our finest cows!" I shoved the milk bottles onto Phillip. He took it from my hand and put them inside of his sling bag. "I guess you did help me out, so thanks. Help me out again next time, okay?" I tried to show him my sweetest smile.

Phillip nodded. "I'm happy to be able to help, don't hesitate to ask."

"Oh, and thanks for the rewards also." Phillip grinned and began to ruffle my bangs. I was annoyed at his action so I snapped at him, but then he chuckled in response.

Ash sometimes did the same thing. He like to ruffle my hair or even tugged my pigtails. But the same brotherly action felt different when Phillip did it, compared to my brother. He was the first person to did that to me beside Ash.

* * *

"...So yeah, I tried to give him a kiss on his cheek and failed. He really thought I was joking." I concluded my story as I tried to remember other details that I might left out, while sitting on the grass near the outskirt of the town together with Angie and Lucy.

Angie glanced at me in bewilderment. "Wow, I don't know you could be so straightforward."

"Anyway, the point is that I think Phillip doesn't see me as a woman. He sees me like a little child."

"Figures. His age is around Ash's, right?" Lucy replied, not really asking the question.

Angie nodded in agreement. "He just sees you as a little sister."

"And that's why I want to change his perspective of me." I concluded. "I don't want him to consider me like I am his friend's little sister."

"Well that's… difficult. Because you ARE his friend's little sister." Lucy left out a sigh.

"Difficult, not impossible." I recoiled Lucy's words. "That's why I tried to dress myself to look like grown ups."

"So that's why you reeks out of lavender smell these days…" Lucy waved her hand repeatedly in front of her nose. "You smell like mothers."

"Good. That means I smell exactly like grown up." I grinned at Lucy as I fixed my skirt below and sat back down on the grass.

Angie burrowed her brows. "But, Cheryl… Are you sure… that…uh, you want to… go after him?" Angie asked carefully as she tried to come up with the right words.

"I do think I have a chance, though." I said. Both Angie and Lucy threw a curious look at me, motioning for me to proceed. "He gave me my favorite cake on my previous birthday."

"Umm… I think he give birthday presents to almost every people he befriended in Bluebell." Angie murmured.

"Okay, but he delivered my present even when there was this big storm outside!" I added.

"I heard he like to go foraging in the mountain for ore stones when the storm hit." Lucy added.

"… Okay, he gave me flowers before. Not because I posted them on my request boards, he actually gave them to me out of his own will." I said.

"It doesn't count if it was on Flower Day." Lucy raised an eyebrow at me.

"…"

"…"

"…"

We fell into a short silence. It seems like Lucy and Angie were waiting for my response, but I couldn't come up with any witty response so I kept mum until Angie broke the silence.

"There is too much age difference between you two. You're not going to become an adult just because you tried to dress up like one." Angie explained her opinion, followed by Lucy's nod as a sign of her agreement.

I shook my head and frowned at them. "It has been my dream to marry someone sweet and good at farming, someone like Ash."

"Maybe you just adore Phillip because he is somewhat similar to Ash…?" Lucy added.

Her words actually hit the nail, but then after a few seconds I shook my head again. "No. Ash is Ash, and Phillip is Phillip." I mumbled, my voice was a little shaken and my eyes were a bit teary.

"Everyone always think of me as a nuisance… Now that there is someone who treats me nicely other than Ash, I… I just-" I dragged my knees onto my chest and hugged them as I buried my lower face behind my knees. "I just… don't want to be alone. One day Ash will leave me and I am afraid that I will have nobody else beside me."

Lucy and Angie exchanged glances before they get up and proceeded to sit beside me and wrapped their arms around me.

"Hey, what about us? If Ash leave, you can always look for us you know." Lucy said.

"…Yeah. You're not alone, Cheryl." Angie added.

I left out a chuckle and wiped my eyes before a tear managed to break through. "Thanks Lucy, Angie. You girls are really the best."

Angie and Lucy replied me with a grin.

"But I'll still try to go after Phillip." I added.

Angie and Lucy replied me with a sigh.

* * *

"Are you sure that you want to come along?" Ash asked as he came into our room.

"Yeah." I replied shortly without turning my attention to Ash.

"It's going to end real late, you know." Ash added.

"I know." I replied, still focusing my attention on my reflection in the mirror.

Curious, Ash decided to approach me who was sitting on a bed, holding a mirror on my left hand and a lipstick on my right.

"Cheryl, what are you-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? HAHAHAHAHAH!" Ash grabbed my shoulder, and as soon as I turned around he burst out laughing.

"Hey!" I snapped at Ash. "What's so funny?!"

"Oh come on, Cheryl! What's wrong with your face? Are you trying to do a cosplay of the Joker or what?" Ash said, still laughing his stomach off.

"Kids don't be so noisy. It's late." Mom entered our room with a frown on her face.

"…"

Mom immediately froze when she saw me, and Ash tried his best to cover his laughter to lower the noise.

"Cheryl," Mom broke the silence with my name.

"Yeah?"

"Do you still want to go to the Star Gazing Festival?"

"…Yeah?"

"Then wipe it off your face now." Mom said.

"Oh," Mom poked her head from the door again. "From now on, don't just go and use mom's make up on your own. No, actually don't ever do make up on your own. Again."

"Uh." I mumbled and shot a dagger at Ash as I heard him left out some 'pfftt' sound. "Okay."

* * *

I ended up wearing my usual outfit to the festival. Star Gazing festival is an annual festival every Summer 18, where the villagers of Bluebell will all gather at the mountain summit to watch the stars. Usually, the mayor would provide some alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

I previously tried my best to enjoy the festival until the end, but I always fell asleep halfway through, so I don't always join the festival. This time, I would like to stay awake and maybe I could spend some time talking more to Phillip. He is sure a busy person, I don't get many chance to talk to him as he is busy with his farming. Even when he stop by at the shop, he would usually leave right after he's done with his business. Though, I saw him hanging out with Ash, Cam, Laney and Georgia sometimes at Howard's place and of course I couldn't just butt into the gang.

When we arrived at the mountain summit, almost everyone were already there. The mayor and aunt Rose was busy chatting with uncle Grady, Diego and Enrique were busy nibbling down the finger foods, Eileen was examining a huge tree nearby. As we entered the venue, the mayor turned his attention towards us and welcomed us to the festival.

We walked towards the drinks table, and not long after, Howard - followed by Laney and Cam approached us and the next second mom was dragged by Howard to talk about some 'juicy gossips' around the village.

"Champagne?" Ash hold up two glasses of pink liquor and shoved them to Laney and Cam.

"Thanks." Cam took the glass and lift it slightly before taking a sip out of the glass.

"Where's Georgia?" Laney asked.

Ash shrugged. "I saw uncle Grady but I didn't see her around. Oh yeah, what about Phillip?"

"The mayor said he already arrived at the summit earlier." Cam replied.

"Huh." Ash raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then." He seems like he was about to say something, but then he decided to just slip it off and gulped down his champagne.

The trio continued to chat and giggled among themselves. Bored, I glanced at my surroundings while sipping on my orange juice.

 _Seems like Angie and Lucy are not coming,_ I thought.

I decided to stroll around the summit and mingle with the villagers.

"Good evening, Diego, Enrique." I greeted the brothers.

"Oh-ho! Good evening, Cheryl." Enrique replied while chewing on his food.

"Have you tried the cakes? Laney sure is an incredible baker." Diego suggested.

"I bet they are worth a lot of money." Enrique added.

The brothers continued to ramble on how to raise their store profits by selling food, seeming to totally forgot about my presence so I walked away from them.

"Good evening, Eileen." I called out to the carpenter.

"Oh? It's you. Good evening." She responded, then turned her attention back to the tree and knocked it with her fist . "This is such a good wood…" She murmured.

"Are you looking for some material for your work?" I asked the obvious, trying to have a little conversation with her.

"Huh? Pardon?" She turned to me and threw a confused look at me, so I repeated my question. "Oh, yes, you're right." She replied shortly before turning to the tree again.

Feeling that I couldn't carry a conversation with her, I decided to stroll around again. I glanced at Ash and mom, each of them were happily chatting and conversing with the others.

 _Strange,_ I thought. _Cam said that Phillip is already here, but I don't see any single trace of him._

I decided to walk higher towards the peak, a little further away from where people gathered to search for Phillip. As I almost reach the peak, I saw two silhouettes were standing side by side, while glancing at the stars in the sky. I sneaked closer to reveal the silhouettes, and it turned out to be Phillip and Georgia.

"A wish, huh? Why, talking of wishes makes me think of the past." Georgia chuckled.

"Something's in your mind?" Phillip asked, curious.

"Well, when I first came here to the village, I had a real hard time fitting in. At night when I saw a star, I used to wish on it. I used to wish for friends." Georgia's lips curved into a smile. "Why, then one day Laney came and talked to me. And my wish came true."

Phillip's mouth imitated her curve. "That's a great story. It makes me want to wish for something."

"Why not? You should make a wish!" Georgia suggested.

"Well, I guess a wish wouldn't hurt." Phillip agreed.

"Yeah, come on, now. Let's make a wish together!" Georgia said, then I saw the two silhouettes linked up their fingers in between each other on one hand as they stood side by side, holding hands and made a wish upon a star.

Originally, I planned to call out to Phillip earlier and joined them, but I just couldn't call his name. Something inside me just stopped me from doing so. So I turned back to where the crowds gather, and drifted off to sleep again halfway through the festival under a tree before Ash had to carry me home again.


End file.
